Tag: Christian music

Andrew Peterson Music

A Good Surprise

Do you like surprises?

I sure do!  

When they’re good surprises, of course.

That’s why I was so thrilled to stumble across the music of Christian songwriter, Andrew Peterson.

Since I’m a huge fan of faith-based movies and music, I frequently search online to read about the latest-greatest.

Several days ago, I was checking out a popular Christian music website which gave a five-star rating to Andrew Peterson.

Five stars!

 Andrew Peterson Is He Worthy

 As you probably know, YouTube comes in handy sometimes.

It’s an easy way to “dip your toe” into a new album and decide if you want to take the plunge and buy it or not.

 

A five star artist is worth a look, right?

 

I searched Andrew Peterson and the first song that came up was the very moving, “Is He Worthy?”

 

Trust me, crank this one up and play it when you need a dose of blessed assurance and hope.

 

Doctor’s orders!

Andrew Peterson Music

“Is He Worthy” appears on Peterson’s “Resurrection Letters, Volume 1” album.

After playing it several times, I knew I had to buy it.

I’ve been listening to it ever since.

Peterson’s tender vocal stylings, complimented by a stirring piano melody and beautiful choral harmonies, completely won me over.

Still Dancing

My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary.

It seems like just yesterday we were holding hands and saying, “I do!”

Looking at all the old wedding pictures and reminiscing brought up some very happy memories for us. Memories of the challenging times came up too. Prayer and God’s grace sustained us through them all.

When I first heard the song, “Dancing Through The Minefields” – I was stunned at how beautiful it was and that the title of the song went straight to my heart.

After all these years, my husband and I are still dancing, knowing that God keeps His promises.

Andrew Peterson Tour

Would you like to see Andrew Peterson in concert?

You can find information about his tour dates here: https://www.andrew-peterson.com/tour.

My hope is that these songs kindle a new longing not only in hearts, but down to our very bones and sinews—a tangible longing that we were made for this, for this coming redemption, for God dwelling with his people in a more profound way than he did even in the garden. – Andrew Peterson, Christian musician and author.

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*Andrew Peterson quotation, [website]. Retrieved from https://www.andrew-peterson.com/about., n.d., para. 19.

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TobyMac’s Latest Tour Shines Bright In Dallas

TobyMac Tour Shines Bright in the Big D

Hands down, my best birthday present ever was getting to see TobyMac in concert…and getting to meet him.

I’m a huge fan and the tour for his latest album, the Grammy-nominated, “This Is Not A Test,” was already on my radar. I could hardly contain my excitement when I found out that my husband’s birthday surprise included a meet-and-greet with the artist himself.

TobyMac selfie

Backstage With TobyMac

Going backstage pre-concert was a thrill that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I wasn’t the only one on cloud 9. My husband and I were standing in the meet-and-greet line behind a dad and his two young daughters. I asked one of them which song off the album was her favorite and she said, “All of them!”

Toby was gracious to everyone and accommodating of each selfie request. When it was my turn, I got the prized photo above, plus Toby wished me a “Happy Birthday.”

Sweet!

The Verizon Theater in Dallas was packed with concert goers of all ages and the excitement was contagious.

The lineup included some impressive talent, namely, Colton Dixon, Hollyn, and Britt Nicole.

Some brief words about these other artists:

Hollyn sings

Hollyn was amazing and I love her musical collaborations with Toby. She has a powerful voice and I have no doubt she’ll be someone to watch in the world of Christian music.

A song from Colton Dixon

You may remember Colton Dixon as a former American Idol finalist. His driving rhythms had the crowd rocking from the first few seats all the way up to the rafters. I could actually feel his music in my chest.

I’ve seen him in interviews. He’s a sweet guy with a passion for sharing the message of Christ through his God-honoring lyrics. I’m grateful there are artists like Colton whose music appeals to a whole new generation of fans who are searching for meaning in a reckless world.

Britt Nicole charms the audience

Britt Nicole was a delight. She has more energy than any female recording artist I’ve ever seen on stage. Girl’s got some moves! A highlight was when she walked down into the audience and took selfies with young kids during her songs.

Toby Mac-netizes The Crowd With Unforgettable Hooks and a Dynamic Stage Presence

There was a short curtain glitch before TobyMac and DiverseCity came on. Once the curtain was righted, the crowd erupted in a loud roar as my new friend Toby (emphasis mine) came out on stage waving a huge white banner singing, “Til The Day I Die.”

opening number for TobyMac

You could safely say that every song he sang received a standing ovation from start to finish. We didn’t sit down once  🙂

I love his new album and, of course, I have my favorite songs already. He’s hit it out of the park again with “This Is Not a Test” – electrifying, heart-pumping rhythms that give you the irresistible urge to jump up and dance like no one’s watching.

TobyMac tour

Here are some thoughts on my faves:

Backseat Driver (Feat. Hollyn & Tru) – First off, let me mention, if you didn’t already know, Tru is Toby’s son. The title of this song and the catchy lyrics? Well, pure genius. Aren’t we all backseat drivers to God’s direction at one time or another? We want things our way, otherwise, we want God out of the way. This song emphasizes that our desire should be to let God be God and give control to Him.

Check out this official lyric video for the song, BackSeat Driver.

Aren’t We All Control Freaks At Times?

How many of us want to take over, take the wheel, take God out of the circumstances of our lives? In our moments of self-absorption, we sometimes think that we are actually in control. This is a song about surrendering everything to God and resting in the knowledge that He knows what’s best for us.

Lights Shine Bright (Feat. Hollyn) – Hollyn’s soulful vocals do not disappoint on this song. It begins with a whisper then builds to the unforgettable refrain.

Feel It (Feat. Mr. Talkbox) – this is another favorite. Like most of Toby’s songs, this is a high energy tune with empowering lyrics that embrace the spirit of our faith – that no matter what, Christ is all we need.

Move (Keep Walkin’)– If unanswered prayers have you feeling down, this song serves as a battle cry and important reminder to keep pushing forward because we have the promise of eternal victory through Christ. The lyrics are a battle cry really, with precise rhythms like what you might expect of soldiers marching into battle.

Undeniable – The lyrics to Undeniable are beautiful. Here’s a sample:

You’re the bright and morning star,

but still You speak to my heart.

Undeniable, You are,

You are.

God is on His throne above, Lord of all, and yet He speaks to our hearts and knows our names. His signature is on everything. It’s like a prayer. I love the addition of the youth choir singing at the end of this song.

TobyMac Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

The Hits Deep Tour is scheduled to begin in early February. You can find his latest tour dates on his website, http://tobymac.com/announcing-hits-deep-tour-2016/

TobyMac in Dallas

God bless!

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Trust In The Lord Even When You Hurt

Trust in the Lord Even When You Hurt

It can be hard to trust in the Lord when you feel like your life is falling apart.

trust in the Lord even when it hurtsBad things happen.

  • A car plows into your vehicle and sends you to the hospital.
  • Your spouse says he or she has had an affair.
  • A friend is given a cancer diagnosis.
  • Your teenager is addicted to drugs.

These are huge wake-up calls and this small list doesn’t even cover what some of your friends and family may be going through.

It hurts a lot sometimes.

In my own family, there’s divorce, the loss of a child, the loss of a job, health concerns, and atheism.

Difficult questions come to mind when you wake up and get some bad news.

Where are you, God?

Don’t You care about me?

What did I do to deserve this?

When Did Life Get So Out of Control?

The hard fact is, no one ever promised us an easy life without cares and concerns. In the book of James 1:2-4, Scripture tells us that we’ll experience various trials.

Notice that the word “trials” is in its plural form.

And yet, we are still told to trust Him.

There was no exception to that command.

The Bible doesn’t say, “Trust in the Lord, except when __________(fill in the blanks with your particular circumstance.)

Is unshakeable trust in God an easy thing to have?

We’d like to think so, but not always. We’re not perfect. We have the very human, knee jerk, “fix it now” mentality and can rush headlong into finding a quick solution, all the while forgetting to pray and ask God for His strength and guidance to see us through.

God Loves usAlways Remember, He Loves Us

The wonderful truth is that God loves you. Nothing or no one can take that away from you. You are His child.

He knows your past, present, and future. For His reasons alone, He allows certain things to take place in our lives.

God may appear to be silent at times, but you and me have to trust Him and that means in good times and in bad. If we pray or even talk to Him quietly in our thoughts, He will listen.

A Christian Perspective From Georgia

I asked a good friend of mine about her favorite Bible verse. Kim M. from Georgia chose Proverbs 3:5-6.

*Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make straight your paths.

missing puzzle piecesHere’s what Kim had to say about why this verse means so much to her:

“Our understanding and logic is not the same as God’s. We work hard to put things in a way that seems logical to us, only to find that there is always that piece or something that is missing. With God, He can see the whole picture so there are no missing pieces. If we place God in charge instead of us trying to be in charge, all of the pieces will fall into place, in accordance to His will and His timing. Trust God completely.”

That is so true.

Learning to Cope

How can you learn endurance to get through the hard times? There are a lot of options.

  • Pray. God is listening.
  • You can read and memorize Scripture, especially the verses that encourage you the most.
  • You can listen to some great Christian music. I have links to some great contemporary artists on this website.
  • You can attend a Men or Women’s Bible study. Once there, you can meet some of the most amazing people who have struggles of their own. The friendships often become lifelong.
  • You can help someone less fortunate than yourself. As sad as you may feel about some of your own trials, there’s always someone who is worse off than you. That will help with your perspective.
  • Lastly, you can get together with some of your Christian friends. You can lift each other up with support and love. Some day, all Christians will be in Heaven together where there is no more suffering and sadness.

That will be a very happy day.

Do you feel this article may be helpful to someone?

Please feel free to share it with them.

*Bible reference: English Standard Version. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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Thank You God

Thank You God for Everything!

First and foremost, through this blog I want to give glory to God. He has blessed me in more ways than I can count and I am humbled by His mercy and kindness.

Thank you God!

Thank You GodIt is a privilege to write about my delight in God and my hope is that something I write will strike a chord in someone else. When you have good news, you want to share it, right?

Sometimes with all the busyness of everyday life, we forget to thank the One who knew us before we were born. I want to do that now.

Thank you God for Your love and grace – for loving me (and us) so much that You gave Your only Son to die on the cross to pay the price for my (and all) of our sins. We are wretched humanity and we deserve absolutely nothing, but in Your infinite love, You provide the way for us to receive Your salvation and spend our eternity with You.

Salvation

A Life Turned Around

Thank You God for my life. I remember eighteen years ago wondering what the purpose of my life was. I praise You for letting me find the answer and that is, to come to know You and to make Your name known. A horrible life-changing accident years ago could have taken my life, but You chose to spare me and give me a second chance. My life has completely turned around. I’m not the same person I once was. I am a new creation and I understand the responsibility and the joy of what that means now.

The Bible

It’s All True

Thank You God for Your Word – the Bible. You cared so much about humanity that You inspired the gospel writers to write down Your message of love, salvation, and forgiveness for all of us to read until the end of time.

It saddens me that some, even some Christians, doubt the inerrancy of Scripture or try to soften the message to appease a very dark world. People can’t have it both ways. They shouldn’t say they believe in the Bible and then turn around and say “well, only some of it is true.” ALL of it is true. If someone has doubts temporarily, it’s okay, but they need to actively research it and they will come to know the truth as well. I did. No one has an excuse when the information is so readily available to those who seek to understand how everything falls into place in the Bible. I provide some resources in this website for you.

Thank you God for my husband. He is a man of God and was the one who helped lead me to Christ. He is also the one who saved my life years ago in our family accident. Out of all the places my future husband could have moved for a job, he ended up moving to the same apartment complex.

I know that was You, God.

God’s Timing Is Better Than Mine

Some of us are a little resistant when it comes to finding the right guy for us. It took several bad dates for me to realize what I was looking for in a husband – and he lived right next door to me! Bill is my rock and I will never stop thanking God for him.

Thank you God for the wonderful people You have put in my life through the years. I treasure those relationships, each and every one. I love and pray for my friends who are Christians. For those who aren’t, I love and pray for them as well. I pray that my life will reflect the joy that I feel of knowing You personally and knowing that You love me back. There’s no rejection in Christ Jesus. None. While some people we come across in life will reject us, even spread lies or try to hurt us, we as Christians have the knowledge that Jesus will never abandon those of us who seek Him.

Beautiful creation

Thank you God for the beautiful creation that You designed just for us. Every sunrise and sunset is a priceless masterpiece. It is a privilege to live here and experience it, but I never forget the Artist behind the painting.

Thank you God for my health. It’s not perfect and there have been scares. As emotional as that can be, I know there’s a purpose in it no matter what happens in the future. My body will wear with age, but my soul knows that one day, I will spend eternity with You. There will be no pain, no rejection, no sadness, no hurts, no aging – all will be perfect because that is what You have promised us who accept Your grace.

a passion for writing about God

To God Be The Glory

Thank you God for my passion for writing about You. When my television career ended so many years ago, I felt my love for writing would end along with it. I look back on the journey and realize there’s no easy path. But I’m here now and grateful for the rocky path it took me to get here – not at the time, but I get it now 😉 Your timing is always right.

Thank you God for my enthusiasm for Christian music. It truly blesses my life. I like to listen to a lot of different artists, but the most respect I have is for those musicians who dedicate their lives to glorifying God through their talents. As my iPod list continues to grow, I discover more and more artists who inspire me through their words to trust in You.

Thank you God for Your many blessings on my life, both seen and unseen. Many times I think to myself “I know that was You, God.” but there are the too-numerous-to-count blessings that I don’t see right now. I know that You have protected me from many things and I look forward to knowing someday what those were.

Thank you God for our church. We attend a Bible-believing, God-honoring church and we’re grateful to God that we are able to attend.

Thank you God for the tragedies, the losses, the difficult times in my life. This is hard to write, but it is important. We were never, as Christians, promised that our belief in God would lead to an easy and prosperous life. Far from it. In fact, life seems to get harder at times.

Praying

Seeking God’s Peace

When the job losses come, or the surgery date approaches, or you lose a precious child in your family – the questions nag away at you. Why, God? Why me? Did I do something wrong? How long, God?

Don’t stop praying. He hears us. Seek the peace that only He can give us.

Don’t stop trusting Him, even through the pain. The non-believers want you to give up on God. They want a “quick fix” to problems and when you don’t get one for your suffering, they swoop in like vultures to tell you that God doesn’t really care about you.

He does.

He does care.

He does love you and He loves me.

Thank you God!

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Christian Music Challenge – The CMC

Do You Listen To Christian Music?

If not, I want to share something exciting with you.

Christian music is like an anchor during a storm. You can get back your peace and perspective despite the depressing headlines of the day. Just about everyone I talk to is ready to get a break from all of this junk going on in our world.

Listening to Christian MusicYou have a lot of options when you listen to music.

Did you ever take the original Christian Music Challenge developed by Al Menconi? Taking that Challenge many years ago opened up a lot of musical doors for me. I’m talking about great Christian music, in all genres from pop to country to Christian rap. But, more about that later.

Shutting Out The Negative Values of This World

Our increasingly dark world will promote and glamorize anything that goes against our faith in Jesus Christ.

I can’t even turn on the television or read the news without negative headlines or news briefs changing my usually happy disposition to one of instant irritation.

depressing news headlinesThen there are the offensive plot lines that appear every night on television which are also glorified on movie screens across the country. Some parents deny that type of exposure can have a bad influence on their kids and sadly take their underage children to R-rated movies.

Does that make any sense at all? Why aren’t those parents taking the time to check out a movie before they take their kids to it?

There are enough websites out there to let us know if a movie has overtly sexual themes or is laced with obscenities.

I’ve made that mistake myself, although I didn’t have kids with me.

Recently, I started watching the movie “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon. I made the mistake of assuming this movie would be a lighthearted adventure.

Big mistake.

I should have, and will, from now on, check out a thorough movie review website first. Terrible language (including the mocking of Christ) was spewed in the movie, plus gratuitous and graphic nudity.

I turned it off about 15 minutes in, totally disgusted. What a terrible waste of time and money.

Here’s a helpful website that can help parents make better decisions about the movies they plan to take their kids to go see.

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

hollywood doesn't care about your familiesHollywood Doesn’t Care

Hollywood doesn’t care about your kids or your family. If you’re a parent, relative, or a babysitter, for goodness sake, be aware of what the kids are watching. Don’t be fooled into thinking a movie is okay because the actors promoting it had some safer-viewing movies in the past.

What’s really sad, is that type of “entertainment” (and I use the word loosely) is later honored at a glamorous award ceremony with celebrities applauding each other for making millions of dollars.

I guess this makes me “uncool” for saying this, and I’m fine with that.

I love people, but I love Jesus Christ more.

Discovering Christian Music

For me, taking the Christian Music Challenge was like finding an anchor during a storm. I used to think that Christian music was just hymns and gospel. As beautiful as those genres are, it is comprised of so much more.

There are a lot of Christian rap artists I love to listen to – Toby Mac, for instance. I can listen to his music, crank it up, dance to it even, and not worry that I’m filling my head with the constant drilling-in of lyrics promoting hookups and violence.

Praise God for that!

We have options to offensive entertainment, we just have to take the time to seek it out. You can search youtube, Jesus Freak Hideout, New Release Tuesday, NoiseTrade, and cdbaby.com – to name a few places to discover great Christian music.

These days, a Christian mindset is often ridiculed. For what? For wanting to protect children, for wanting to keep our own thoughts on things above?

Your Whole Family Can Commit to Joy

You and your family can rise above the negative, overtly sexual, and violent secular entertainment and instead have a heart and mind focused on finding peace in Jesus Christ.

When the headlines are getting me down, I turn on music that lifts me up and brings me back to joy. God is in control and nothing that’s happening today is without His knowledge.

Don’t worry: this is not about forever tuning out any other type of music. But, you’ll find that your choices become more and more in line with a changed heart.

The real question to think about is: why would you want to waste your time with entertainment that’s against biblical values and may possibly undermine your relationship with the Lord?

don't undermine your relationship with the Lord

My iPod is filled with a lot of music…country, classic rock and so on. But, I now turn to music choices from all genres that are uplifting and don’t dishonor God. I want my mind to be focused on things above, not jumbled and distracted.

I want my entertainment choices to enrich my life, not bring me down. I’d rather have my thoughts go somewhere like this, wouldn’t you?

Christian musicFrom now on, I’m focusing on making better choices.

Bring it on home, TobyMac!

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